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OT- Te'o "scandal" Topic

It's not a big story because of WHAT happened; it's a big story because of WHO was involved. If you followed the Heisman race closely, you would know Manti got 2nd for that award and won several others for no reason other than he is a good guy with more integrity and character than anyone else. His stats and other measurables were barely better than average, and his skills as a LB aren't that special. The only thing that set him apart was his "role model" persona. And that persona was built solely on the back of the dead girlfriend/love story and how it inspired his play. If this had happened to anyone else at all, it wouldn't be as big of a story.

The original news that broke about this catfish thing made it sound like he had concocted this entire thing himself. If that's the case, everything we thought about Manti Teo being the greatest guy on earth would be a lie. In fact, he'd be the opposite of the greatest guy on earth.

But if it turns out that Manti was purely a victim who was tricked into a false online relationship and then exaggerated a few details of the relationship to his buddies which eventually snowballed once the media picked it up, it's really not that much of a deal. But if he was the mastermind or at least was involved from the beginning of this plot to build sympathy and support, then he is evil.

There's no doubt he lied along the way. But it's very plausable that everything about the relationship was real to him. Perhaps he was a little embarrassed about the fact that he'd never actually seen her face to face, so he made up a couple of white lies about meeting her. I can totally see that happening actually. But then again, there are still lots and lots of holes in this story that just don't make any sense...and nobody other than Manti and the others directly involved know the truth...and that's what makes it so fascinating.

There's another reason for the all the extreme media attention. The media itself got duped. The entire industry is supposed to be built on reporting news and facts, which are all supposed to be true. Although most of us realize sports journalism has devolved into something else, they consistently try to present themselves as legit. Now that it's come out that the literally hundreds of stories they ran on Manti and his girlfriend were all lies and they've all been busted for running stories that nobody ever fact-checked, they are going after Manti and this catfishing story with the fury of a woman scorned. Whatever they have to do to pass the blame and villainize Manti and the hoax conspirators, they will do. ESPN and other sports networks are more focused on damage control and covering their own ***** instead of reporting news. And the lesser sports organizations such as local talk radio stations are jumping on the opportunity to make fun of the big boys within the industry for screwing up so bad.

The fact that Deadspin.com has proven to be a better source for sports-related news than ESPN has got to be burning the ESPN producers up, and I think it's awesome.

The last time Teo was embarrased like this was when Alabama's RB's introduced him to a different level of the game (and I'm by no means an Alabama fan), unless lying on the ground was part of Notre Dame's gameplan. I think there is little doubt that he knew/discovered she wasn't real. He may have become too embarrased about the whole thing to come forward and tell all of those in the media that labeled him a god the truth. Only problem now is that Deadspin shows him to be a fraud. He'll live with this for a long time. I wonder what kind of an impact this story had on the voters which decorated his mantel with defensive and mvp awards. According to Notre Dame's statement, they and Teo found out "the truth" on Dec 6th. The Maxwell and Bednarik awards were awarded two days later. Have fun Goodell.

Oh btw, does Coach Kelly ask for the game ball back, you know, the one that he gave to Teo to forward to Lennay? (Michigan game) And where exactly did that ball go?

I could care less. This is about football. It's not like he cheated other players using PEDs. The only reason it's a supposed story is because people other than Teo fell for it. If he got votes for the Heisman because of it, then THOSE voters were duped as well. They should have been voting for him because of his perfomance WITHOUT the sympathy colored glasses on.

It's only a story for me on the level that I feel bad for Teo, whether he was completely duped or if he was partially complicite. He has some issues to address personally either way. For me and football... I'm moving on and letting his field perfomance speak.

Posted by texasbrad on 1/18/2013 11:24:00 AM (view original):I could care less. This is about football. It's not like he cheated other players using PEDs. The only reason it's a supposed story is because people other than Teo fell for it. If he got votes for the Heisman because of it, then THOSE voters were duped as well. They should have been voting for him because of his perfomance WITHOUT the sympathy colored glasses on.

It's only a story for me on the level that I feel bad for Teo, whether he was completely duped or if he was partially complicite. He has some issues to address personally either way. For me and football... I'm moving on and letting his field perfomance speak.

PEDs...could I see some recent results of an urine analsis. Better yet, how about one from mid-summer during a probable cycle.

This kid, through his coming out party in Miami and this "opps" moment on his reputation - he slips to the 3rd round.

Posted by taint98 on 1/18/2013 10:31:00 AM (view original):There's another reason for the all the extreme media attention. The media itself got duped. The entire industry is supposed to be built on reporting news and facts, which are all supposed to be true. Although most of us realize sports journalism has devolved into something else, they consistently try to present themselves as legit. Now that it's come out that the literally hundreds of stories they ran on Manti and his girlfriend were all lies and they've all been busted for running stories that nobody ever fact-checked, they are going after Manti and this catfishing story with the fury of a woman scorned. Whatever they have to do to pass the blame and villainize Manti and the hoax conspirators, they will do. ESPN and other sports networks are more focused on damage control and covering their own ***** instead of reporting news. And the lesser sports organizations such as local talk radio stations are jumping on the opportunity to make fun of the big boys within the industry for screwing up so bad.

The fact that Deadspin.com has proven to be a better source for sports-related news than ESPN has got to be burning the ESPN producers up, and I think it's awesome.

That is an interesting way to look at it.... I listened to (part of) the first ND press conference, and between fits of laughter, it struck me how they characterized the hoax as so unbelievably sophisticated, so vast, so many "perpetrators", so advanced, you'd think the old Russian KGB were pulling the strings---rather than just a situation where some dumb kid fell for a practical joke and then was stupid enough to continue as the jokers escalated it along with his fame. ...and then was too embarrassed to tell the truth when he discovered it, and became party to the 'crime'.

Meanwhile, all of the college football establishment falls all over itself trying to explain how their Shining Example could be either: A Moron, or A Hoaxer. I don't think it is really the latter--is a dead grandmother not enough?? I really think he is just as dumb as a rock, and his talent in football shined a light on his life that he was just not built for.

It puzzles me that a Bay Area paper or a Stanford school paper didn't stumble across the "hoax" first. The dead girlfriend was supposed to be a Stanford student/alum and Stanford played ND about a month after the alleged death. You think a human angle filler piece would be done about the Stanford girl around the time of the game.

I'm also wondering if the kid in California with the fake profile is going to be charged. California has an anti-online impersonation criminal statute. You've been warned you multiple ID bastards.